Patna: Officials from Bihar and Jharkhand will chalk out details of an inter-state tourism promotion plan.

An understanding in this regard was reached on Tuesday when Bihar tourism minister Pramod Kumar called on Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das in Ranchi. "The chief minister has agreed to direct his state officials to work in this regard while we do our bit for formulation of this plan," Pramod told The Telegraph over phone from Ranchi.

In fact, the Bihar tourism minister submitted a formal letter to Das in this regard during the meeting which lasted for about half-an-hour. "Generally, tourists from both sides come up to Deoghar in Jharkhand and then return. Our goal is to offer some packages so that Jharkhand tourists coming up to Deoghar could be attracted to come to Bihar and vice-versa," Pramod said.

The Bihar minister also extended a formal invitation to the Jharkhand chief minister to take part in the concluding function of Prakash Parv to be held in Patna from December 23 to 25. The event has been organised to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh guru. The inaugural events of Prakash Parv had been organised in January this year in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken part.

The Bihar government has made elaborate arrangements for the concluding function as well and special tent cities at Kangan Ghat and Patna Bypass Road have been developed in Patna. A toll-free number, 18001238150, has been issued for reservations in the two tent cities, which would accommodate around 50,000 people.

Pramod urged Raghubar Das to provide the list of people coming from Jharkhand to Patna to take part in the fest. "This list will help us make proper arrangements for tourists coming from Jharkhand to take part in the event," Pramod said.

The Jharkhand chief minister asked the vice-chairman of the state minority commission, Gurvinder Singh Sethi, who was also present in the meeting, to convene a meeting of all the office-bearers of gurdwaras of Jharkhand and discuss the details about their participation in the event. Das also promised the Bihar minister that the state government would make special arrangements for the transportation of Sikh devotees bound for Prakash Parv.

Speaking to The Telegraph over phone from Ranchi, Sethi said Jharkhand has around 3 lakh Sikh population and more than 10,000 devotees would go to Patna for the festival.

Earlier in the day, the Sikh community also felicitated Pramod Kumar at a function held at Guru Nanak School in Ranchi and thanked him for coming to Jharkhand to invite people of the Sikh community to take part in Prakash Parv.